Civil War (2024) (1 Viewer)

[jayembee]

They forgot to mention Men on the poster.

Considering that those films listed on the poster are described as "from the writer of" -- not "director of" -- I'm surprised they didn't include Sunshine, which he wrote but didn't direct (like the first title listed, 28 Days Later). Or even Dredd.

A24 = Josh is there opening night.

Are you referring to yourself in the third person, or referring to one of the myriad of other Joshes that abound in HTF.

Alex Garland always gets a ticket from me. I haven’t seen the trailer yet and I’m ok if I don’t - I don’t mind walking into his films with no idea of what to expect.

I'm with you there. But I have just watched the trailer, and I'm in. Especially if it plays near me in IMAX. My wife, however, says she'll give it a pass. Too close to reality. Even the prospect of Nick Offerman as the Prez wouldn't change her mind.

Last week @Sam Posten invited me onto his HTF podcast to talk about films we thought were under appreciated, and Sunshine (Garland’s script with Danny Boyle’s direction) was my pick, while @JohnRice selected another Garland screenplay, his adaptation of Never Let Me Go. That was a fun conversation and I’m glad we’ll soon have another film of his to discuss.

I was very happy with Sunshine, at least up to the point where it took a hard left turn into the cornfield of a horror/thriller. I'm not sure whether to blame Garland or Boyle for that. On the other hand, I agree with John about Never Let Me Go. As well as the aforementioned-by-me Dredd, which -- according to Karl Urban -- Garland pretty much directed as well as wrote.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Alex...]

 

[Chris Will]

Looks like an interesting documentary.

 

[Sam Posten]

Looks like an interesting documentary.

Yeah I get the humor but down this path lies madness. We mean it

 

[benbess]

First reactions seem positive.

‘Civil War’ First Reactions From Premiere: “Scary as Hell Cautionary Tale”

A24 and writer-director Alex Garland's provocative action film had its world premiere at South by Southwest: "There is nothing quite like it and you’re not ready."

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[benbess]

It's apparently a serious and thought-provoking movie. Variety's Peter Debruge gives it a lot of praise....

‘Civil War’ Review: Alex Garland Tears America Apart, Counting on Divided Audiences to Prevent His Worst-Case Horror Show

Kirsten Dunst plays a jaded photojournalist documenting the end of democracy in 'Civil War,' sure to be one of the year’s most controversial films.

variety.com

"A terrific Kirsten Dunst plays a jaded photojournalist documenting the end of democracy as we know it in what's sure to be one of the year’s most controversial films.
By Peter Debruge

The press are the good guys, but also kind of the bad guys, in Alex Garland’s virtuosic “Civil War,” a jarring ground-level account of what a near-future disunification of the United States might look like. Intended as a wake-up call, the long-fuse thriller — which starts slow and snowballs to a jaw-dropping raid on Washington, D.C. — embeds viewers alongside a dedicated team of journalists making their way to the Capitol while the country unravels around them...

Audiences have never seen Dunst like this. She looked rough in “Power of the Dog,” but here, covering conflicts has drained the essence right out of her....Most of the movie takes place in broad daylight, not at all the aesthetic audiences expect from a modern-day war movie, which typically uses strategic filters to make everything look gritty....Garland trades in triggering images, not just of war crimes but also in depicting the way such visuals are captured. Meanwhile, ambiguities surrounding the origins of the conflict mean there’s no way to defuse what we’re watching..."

(much more at the link.)

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'm there on opening weekend, Garland as director is all I need to know.

 

[TravisR]

I'm there on opening weekend, Garland as director is all I need to know.

Garland is why all the doubt and mockery of the trailer that I saw on Twitter was senseless to me.

 

[Carl David]

Very intrigued by this.

Certainly piqued my interest so got my ticket for for its opening week in the UK.

Also seen some criticisms on this thread of the director's choice of the states of Texas and California joining together (not even valid on any level from my perspective) so here's a recent interview of him defending his creative choices:

Alex Garland Talks Feeling "Strange" Releasing 'Civil War' During an Election Year | THR Video

Director Alex Garland admits to THR on the red carpet of the Civil War premiere that he feels strange releasing this film during an election year. Plus, he shares his reasoning for paring up California and Texas.

uk.news.yahoo.com

 

[Alex...]

New Poster

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The sad thing is, this is it, Alex says he is done directing, does not want to do it anymore. So, this is his final film as a director unless somewhere down the road something lures him back. He wants to stick to writing going forward. Very sad to hear this.

 

[TravisR]

The sad thing is, this is it, Alex says he is done directing, does not want to do it anymore. So, this is his final film as a director unless somewhere down the road something lures him back. He wants to stick to writing going forward. Very sad to hear this.

How many times has Soderbergh retired or Anthony Hopkins or Daniel Day-Lewis? The only guy that I believe about retirement is Tarantino.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

How many times has Soderbergh retired or Anthony Hopkins or Daniel Day-Lewis? The only guy that I believe about retirement is Tarantino.

He seems very upset and I don't quite know why or what has upset him. He calls himself a fraud. I have not yet seen Civil War but it seemed like it was his biggest film in terms of budget, it is A24's biggest film in terms of budget, it seemed on track to be a successful film, it is most certainly timely, and then he suddenly says, that's it, does not want to direct films anymore, just wants to write for other people.

He is a unique filmmaker in an industry that very much prefers conformity so, he is the type of guy that I could see having a lot issues working within that bubble, but A24 seems a safe harbor for this type of filmmaker and they are doing a great job of getting different kinds of films made.

I was upset because I thought his recent work and this film indicated he was going to start to become a very active director, then this comes out, I believe to mostly good reviews, and he says "That's it, I quit."

I still feel Annihilation was a sci-fi masterpiece, I know that's not universal but I think the film is now getting some reappraisal and people are realizing how great it is in some circles.

This is a guy I was excited about seeing what he would do. He says he just wants to write for others but I hope that means some of his writing will be his own original stories. He has way too much talent to sideline himself.

 

[TravisR]

He seems very upset and I don't quite know why or what has upset him. He calls himself a fraud. I have not yet seen Civil War but it seemed like it was his biggest film in terms of budget, it is A24's biggest film in terms of budget, it seemed on track to be a successful film, it is most certainly timely, and then he suddenly says, that's it, does not want to direct films anymore, just wants to write for other people.

He is a unique filmmaker in an industry that very much prefers conformity so, he is the type of guy that I could see having a lot issues working within that bubble, but A24 seems a safe harbor for this type of filmmaker and they are doing a great job of getting different kinds of films made.

I was upset because I thought his recent work and this film indicated he was going to start to become a very active director, then this comes out, I believe to mostly good reviews, and he says "That's it, I quit."

I still feel Annihilation was a sci-fi masterpiece, I know that's not universal but I think the film is now getting some reappraisal and people are realizing how great it is in some circles.

This is a guy I was excited about seeing what he would do. He says he just wants to write for others but I hope that means some of his writing will be his own original stories. He has way too much talent to sideline himself.

Never say never but I think Garland just needs some time to recharge his creative batteries and he'll be ready to direct again. Or he'll write a movie and end up being irritated or downright angry over a choice that the director makes with the script and that will make him decide it's time to control his scripts again.

And you're right about Annihilation.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Never say never but I think Garland just needs some time to recharge his creative batteries and he'll be ready to direct again. Or he'll write a movie and end up being irritated or downright angry over a choice that the director makes with the script and that will make him decide it's time to control his scripts again.

And you're right about Annihilation.

I hope that is it. Man, he seems really negative on directing at the moment so if he does direct again, it would seem like it will be a while.

I think with Daniel Day-Lewis, that is a battery thing because he pours himself into these parts and at the end of them just has nothing left to give. I feel like that is like the NFL athlete that can't get themselves up to go through another training camp and so walks away. The effort is just too big and they want to stop.

With Tarantino, he does seem to be timing it right because the industry has moved away from what he does in a big way, plus he likes to shoot on film and that is at its end as well. So, he is now a dinosaur in the film industry. It is sad because there is a case for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood being some of his absolute best writing and directing. So he did not go into any sort of decline, which he talks about happening with age, I think he is now in an industry that he just no longer fits in and does not love what they are doing anymore.

With Garland, he just seems really bothered and upset by something or things. I know Annihilation was a really bad experience for him because of the way they failed to distribute that film. He was very much crushed by that. Men had basically a poor reception and a lot of people make fun of the film. I'm sure that does not sit well with him. He also has made it a point to write films with really interesting and strong female characters, he may be the best at doing that in the business, I think, but doing that now does seem to lead to some people taking some real shots at you. Even though the industry seems to want that these days.

I have not read anything about Civil War or his experience on it and I have read no reviews because I want to see it first. So, I don't know if people are giving him any kind of crap over it and I actually don't know how it has performed at the box office.

 

[TravisR]

With Tarantino, he does seem to be timing it right because the industry has moved away from what he does in a big way, plus he likes to shoot on film and that is at its end as well. So, he is now a dinosaur in the film industry. It is sad because there is a case for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood being some of his absolute best writing and directing.

I've made peace with the fact that it'll be basically impossible for QT to top Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The guy hasn't made a dud yet and given how fixated he is on his legacy, I doubt that he'll make a bad or OK movie for his grand finale but topping Once Upon a Time isn't likely in my mind.

I have not read anything about Civil War or his experience on it and I have read no reviews because I want to see it first. So, I don't know if people are giving him any kind of crap over it and I actually don't know how it has performed at the box office.

Yeah, I've done my best to avoid reviews and trailers for nearly everything for the last dozen or more years and it's enhanced my movie viewing dramatically. I have seen almost nothing about CIvil War so I'm excited to see it.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Sooo... does this need to be seen in IMAX... even though it's apparently just 1.9:1 for IMAX?

I'm debating between seeing this in Dolby and the giant Lincoln Square IMAX -- probably not gonna see it in the smaller (2K?) IMAX screens.

_Man_

 

[Josh Steinberg]

FYI, the rest of the Manhattan IMAX locations are now 4K. They utilize the 4K single laser systems as their screen sizes do not require dual laser. I have no idea if Civil War is a 2K or 4K production though.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

FYI, the rest of the Manhattan IMAX locations are now 4K. They utilize the 4K single laser systems as their screen sizes do not require dual laser. I have no idea if Civil War is a 2K or 4K production though.

Interesting. When I saw Dune 2 at the Time Square AMC's IMAX screen around mid-March, thought it looked like it might still be in 2K -- I noticed signs of pixels/aliasing even though I wasn't quite that close to the screen in either row D or E. I also saw it in Dolby at that same AMC the week earlier and found the image more detailed/refined (and closer to 15/70mm IMAX at Lincoln Square) and didn't notice pixels (and never have there... though I've never tried the very 1st row there, but have tried as close as 2nd row though not for Dune 2).

_Man_